A chat with Pat Green

Pat Green was late for our interview, but he apologized. He was on the phone with his father-in-law.

“Hard to get off the phone with that guy,” Green said.

So our time was cut short, which was partly my fault because I had almost double-booked interview slots. I last talked to Green, a Texas alt-country great, before he performed at the 2006 3 Rivers Music Festival.

To spice up our latest chat, I decided to play “Quick Fire with Pat Green.”

Here it is:

Is there a rift between Texas artists and Nashville artists?

If it is, I don’t know anything about it. There’s artist from all over the place that feel like it’s very difficult to get on the radio and that’s true for everybody. You can’t affect Nashville radio from outside the format.

What’s you favorite food?

Mexican food.

Who is your favorite guitarist?

Acoustic, Dave Matthews. Electric guitar, Kenny Greenberg.

Do you like or hate shopping for clothes?

Hate.

Do you like shopping for anything?

New golf clubs.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning?

Call my wife. If I’m home, kiss my wife.

When a song idea comes to mind, how do you know if it’s something to work on or something to throw away?

What I know about writing songs is if it’s a good song, you’ll know it right away. If it’s a song to work on, you’ll remember it. If I don’t remember, it ain’t worth writing. Sometimes you can beat a dead horse. Sometimes you need to let it go. If the song’s worth writing, it goes fast.

When you were trying to figure out yourself as a performer, who were some of the folks you looked up to?

Bruce Springsteen because the show is so electric and so alive. Willie Nelson is a crowd pleaser.

What’s something you can’t be without on the road?

My computer, because it’s got all the pictures of my kids.

Is there anything you would change about your career?

I don’t want it to be anything different.

How would you describe your sound?

If Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen had a kid. A lot of energy and good stories.